Perhaps, My Desire
by Inkworks
Summary: A Pokémon Mystery Dungeon style story. A girl wakes up in the world of Pokémon as a Clefairy with nothing more than fleeting memories of who she used to be. With the help of some rather eccentric Pokémon, she looks for answers and a way back home. But why was she brought to the world of Pokémon in the first place?
1. Day 1

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_Uh-oh, it would appear that I've had an idea for a new story. Um... sort of, anyway. I've actually written out everything in regards to the framework for this one... it just needs to have how we get from point A to point B to point Q written._

_(For those who don't understand what that means - Story's written. Content isn't.)_

_This one probably won't be as long as Sakura's Phoenix, both in chapter length and in chapter amount, but I've pulled fast ones on myself before, so we'll see how it goes._

_As a note, while some characters will be the same as in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games (IE - Wigglytuff and Chatot), others will not. And the story is _way _different._

_So without further ado, let's begin **Perhaps, My Desire**!_

Day 1

Blue had always been a stubborn Squirtle. He was the headstrong sort, always tackling his problems head on and never asking anyone for help in solving them. It was the same with his desire to form an Exploration Team - Blue believed he was strong, more than strong enough to handle himself, and so he'd gone to Wigglytuff's Guild by himself and told Chatot that he would be forming an Exploration Team so he could explore new places and rescue other Pokémon with the power of his awesomeness.

Chatot had stared him in the eyes, told him that it was called an Exploration _Team_ for a reason, as in there had to be more than one Pokémon per team, and promptly kicked him out of the guild.

Blue thought it was a stupid policy, and had wandered off to go sulk (and maybe bribe someone into joining him just so he could form a team). He wandered away from the guild, into a nearby forest clearing with a small spring that he idly noted he often came to when he wanted some time to himself, before noticing that he wouldn't be able to have some time to himself. Blue stared blankly at the Clefairy who stood a short distance away from the water, jabbing at the air with attacks that wouldn't be out of place in a fighting Pokémon's arsenal. He approached her from behind, reaching out to her with an 'Excuse me-'

-And wound up pinned to the ground, one arm behind his shell and the other pinned by the Clefairy's foot for his trouble.

"What's the big idea?!" he yelped, still somewhat shocked due to the sheer speed at which the entire thing had happened.

The Clefairy removed herself from his back, and he pushed himself up, dusting himself off and turning to face her. He noted her bewildered expression, and was only further confused when she lifted a hand and measured the height difference between the two.

"That's weird," she frowned, and Blue quickly picked up on the fact that, despite her ease in speaking them, the words seemed somehow foreign in her mouth, "I don't remember Squirtles being so tall. Or being able to talk."

Blue stared blankly at her, before gently flicking her on the forehead. "That's par for the course, Clefairy," he pointed out, and was about to say something else when he saw her expression change from one of mild annoyance from being flicked to one of complete shock.

"Wh... What did you call me?" she asked, and when Blue repeated her species name, she began freaking out and asking for a mirror. While Blue wasn't really sure what a 'mirror' was, aside from perhaps part of the name of an attack, he figured it was something reflective based on what exactly those attacks _did_ and pointed her in the direction of the small spring. The Clefairy dashed past him, stopping at the edge and staring down at her reflection in the water.

When she fell backwards onto her butt, he figured that something was wrong and approached her, waving a hand in front of her face. When she didn't respond, he dipped his tail into the spring and splashed her in the face with some water.

That earned him a trip into the spring courtesy of a shoulder throw from the Clefairy.

Blue sputtered as he surfaced, and stared right at the Clefairy, who seemed equal parts enraged and in shock. He finally decided using his words might be a better idea and asked, "Hey, what's wrong?"

It took her a moment to respond. "I... this isn't right," she muttered, looking at her hands. "I... I'm not... I should be..." Blue waited for her to get her bearings, and when she realized he wasn't going to say anything, she continued. "I... I'm a human... or at least, I think I am... I don't remember anything else..."

Blue frowned. "That can't be right," he said, and she met his gaze. "Humans went extinct a long time ago."

Her eyes widened in shock, and he realized that he maybe shouldn't have said that. His suspicions were confirmed when she began _slapping_ herself, and he had to scramble out of the spring and grab her arms to keep her from doing it more. Blue vaguely noticed that she was surprisingly strong and he had to exert a _lot _of force to keep her from moving, and by the time she calmed down, he was rubbing his arms from all the strain that he'd put them through.

"P... Please..." the Clefairy muttered, and he found himself looking at her as tears began to form in her eyes. "Please believe me... That... It's all that I have... If I can't even believe that..." She hiccuped through sobs, and Blue found himself panicking. How was he even meant to _begin_ dealing with this situation?! He'd come out here to calm himself down after being told he needed to recruit someone in order to form an Exploration Team, and now he had to comfort this crying Clefairy that thought she was a human that he barely even _knew_, and-

An idea began forming in his mind, a way to help this girl and get what he wanted. He took her hand, using it to wipe away her tears. "Hey, it's okay. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset." She slowly nodded, calming herself with a quick hiccup. "Actually, I think I might be able to help you." Her gaze shot up to meet his own, expression reading something between hope and shock. "See, there's something called an Exploration Team, which is basically two or more Pokémon who go around exploring places and rescuing Pokémon who need help. I've always wanted to form one, but I'm not allowed to make one with only myself, and I don't know anyone reliable enough to watch my back..." The Clefairy nodded, taking all of this information in. "But you're strong, so I wouldn't mind forming one with you, and we might even be able to find some ruins or some structures or something that explain why you were turned into a Clefairy."

"You... You really think so?" she asked, and he nodded. "Then... I'd be happy to form a team with you. It's better than sitting around and sulking, anyway..."

"That's the spirit!" Blue grinned, then clapped his hand onto his chest. "Name's Blue. What should I call you?"

The Clefairy's eyes grew hazy, and she seemed to stare into space for a moment. Blue blinked, waving his hand in front of her face, then crossed his arms and waited for her to snap out of her trance.

"Ah-!" she suddenly gasped, and Blue almost jumped from the sudden break in silence. "I... I'm sorry. I just... I think I remembered something... no images, but..." She brought her hand up to her head. "I think... people used to call me Pink."

"Hah! Talk about a weird coincidence," Blue smirked, clapping his hand onto her shoulder. "Well, Pink, let's go get registered! The sooner we do, the sooner we can figure out why you're like this!"

Pink nodded, and allowed Blue to lead her to Wigglytuff's Guild. She found herself watching as Blue attempted to get a word in while Chatot scolded him, only for the bird to become very embarrassed when she cleared her throat and made her presence known. He quickly ushered them in to see the easily excited and friend-happy pink blob that was Wigglytuff, who began yammering about how their power as friendly friends would surely be able to do great things. Neither Blue nor Pink really paid much attention until he asked, "So what do you want your team name to be, friends?"

Both blanked and looked to the other for some sort of idea. "Um-" Blue stammered, quickly realizing he hadn't actually _thought_ about that. "Maybe- um-" He began listing a few ideas like _Team Awesome_ or _Team Epic _or-

Pink cut him off when she voiced her idea. "Team Rangers," she said, and all eyes in the room went to her.

"...Team Rangers?" Blue repeated, and she nodded.

"I mean... we'd be like rangers, going places and helping people, and it just seems to fit with our names, and..." Blue grinned his approval.

"Got it!" Wigglytuff cut in, bringing their eyes to him. "From now on, you'll be Team Rangers!" he smiled, then inhaled. Both Blue and Pink brought their hands to their ears in anticipation. "_**YOM...**_**_ TAH!_**"


	2. Day 2 - Part 1

**_Ink's Notes: _**

_Whoops I made another update for this story let's get started._

_As an FYI, there isn't much of a level system going on here, so characters might know moves that they should logically only learn at later levels because I think it suits the story for them to know them earlier on._

Day 2 - Part 1

Blue was woken from a deep slumber by the sound of labored breath, swishing air, and crunching dirt. When he opened his eyes, he attributed the sounds to Pink taking deep breaths, punching the air, and adjusting her footing on the dirt ground respectively. He groaned, sitting up and rubbing his eyes, drawing the attention of his new teammate. She looked over at him, then waved.

"Morning, Blue. Sorry if I woke you," she greeted, and he mumbled _S'fine_ before pushing himself up and going over to the window.

His expression blanched when he noticed that the sun was barely up, and he turned to look at Pink in disbelief. "It's barely past dawn," he managed to say, his voice elaborating just how tired he still was. Blue was _not _a morning Pokémon. He usually woke up when the sun was about 45º up, not when it was only 10º over the horizon.

"I'm sorry," Pink apologized with a quick bow. "I always wake up at this time in order to train before the day really gets going, and-" Both fell silent. "I... always..." she repeated, fumbling over the words briefly. "Did I really always..."

Blue brought a hand to his mouth in quiet contemplation. It was too early for him to be _awake_, never mind _thinking_. "You must be a pretty dedicated martial artist," was all that his mind was able to offer at the early hours of the morning.

"Yeah... it's a little weird," Pink frowned as she crossed her arms and tapped her foot in quiet contemplation. "I've lost my memory, but I still remember how to fight, and it's like my body's automatically adjusted to the size and weight difference... you'd think that losing my memories would result in forgetting how to fight, but if anything, it almost feels like I'm _better _at it now..."

Blue rubbed his forehead. That _was _odd. Highly unusual, even. Then again, it was also highly unusual that a human would become a Pokémon, especially one that was apparently a talented fighter. A thought dawned on him, and he brought his gaze to meet her own. "Maybe you're using your attacks as a Pokémon to power up your martial arts?"

Pink stared at him, and he promptly realized that she probably had no idea _how_ to use her attacks as a Pokémon. "Like, um... like this." He sprayed a _Water Gun _upwards, allowing it to splash onto himself. This had the added bonus of waking him up fully, and he shook himself out to get the excess water off of him. He noticed that Pink was staring blankly at him, and he waited for her to calm down.

"...How did you do that?" she asked when the initial shock wore off.

"It just... comes naturally to me, I guess," Blue frowned. "I just sort of figured out how it works one day. Gather water in my mouth and shoot it outwards." He thought for a moment. What sort of moves were Clefairy known for...? "Hmm... Like, your species does this thing where they wag their fingers and then weird stuff happens."

"Where we wag our fingers..." Pink lifted her hands and began wagging her fingers back and forth, back and forth. Blue noticed her fingertips start to glow white, and wondered what was about to happen.

He yelped and pulled himself into his shell when a light bluish-white ball of energy surrounded by electricity began forming above her hands, only growing larger, until she yelped in shock and jumped backwards, pushing the ball of energy forwards as she did so. The _Freeze Shock _attack shot into a nearby wall, blowing a large hole in it before freezing the hole over.

It wasn't long before Chatot came scrambling into their room, asking what in the world had happened, and Pink began apologizing profusely while Blue slowly pulled himself out of his shell, still in shock. One awkward explanation later, Chatot was leaving the room, muttering about how this would affect the guild's finances, while Blue and Pink were making sure they had everything ready for their first exploration.

When they entered the main room of the guild, they were greeted by a Shroomish and a Gastly calling themselves Team Ghrass, who gave them a tour of the guild. The tour ended with them being shown the Mission Board, where requests for rescues were held, and the Exploration Board, where requests to explore new places were held. Blue and Pink decided to tackle a mission from the Exploration Board first, a request to investigate a suspicious area known as the Unknown Relic.

(They'd picked this one because it was a relic, likely an old place that might hold information on humans, and that might help them figure out what Pink was doing in the world of Pokémon.)

Team Ghrass had taken them to Treasure Town in order to help them get a few necessary supplies, before leading them to a pair of Rapidash who were employed by the guild to take Pokémon to the places that they were going to explore. Team Rangers bid Team Ghrass farewell, then climbed on the backs of the Rapidash. Before long, they were speeding off, away from Treasure Town and towards this Unknown Relic.

After about half an hour of travel, the Rapidash suddenly pulled to a halt. "I've just remembered," the one carrying Blue spoke up, "I need to do some shopping for my daughter."

The one carrying Pink nodded in agreement. "Yes, my husband asked me to pick up some berries today... I had best take care of that before I forget." They lowered themselves to allow their passengers off, and Pink bounced off, though Blue seemed a bit uneasy.

"Hey, Pink, we haven't forgotten anything, have we?" he asked as he slowly slipped off of his ride's back.

Pink looked at her teammate. "No, we double-checked before we left, remember?"

Blue nodded, crossing his arms and adjusting the pack that was at his side. "I just feel like there's something I need to do, but for the life of me I can't remember what it is."

Pink smirked. "You're not getting nervous, are you?" Blue sputtered out an _Of course not!_, but it was lost when Pink began walking towards their destination. "Come on, it's not much further now."_  
_

Blue picked up the pace so he was walking alongside Pink, then frowned and crossed his arms. "...This is weird. You really don't think we've forgotten something?" When Pink looked at him, he elaborated. "The closer we get to this place, the more I feel like I need to go back for some reason. It's just... really weird. The Rapidash headed back, too. You don't feel anything?" Pink shook her head, and Blue seemed to come to a realization, hitting his palm with his fist. "Oh! Maybe only Pokémon can feel it?" When she looked at him, confused, he continued. "Like, when Pokémon get close to this place, they have a sudden urge to go back, but because you used to be human, it doesn't affect you?"

Pink nodded as the two arrived outside of the ruins that were their destination. The door that was the entryway was in pieces, broken and worn down from the passage of time. Pink ran her hand along the structure while Blue seemed a little bit shell-shocked.

"...it's gone," he muttered.

Pink turned to look at him. "What?"

"The feeling that I need to be somewhere else. It's gone."

Pink thought about this for a moment, then nodded. "Shall we check out what this place is hiding, then?"

Blue grinned. "I thought you'd never ask."


	3. Day 2 - Part 2

**_Ink's Notes:_**

_Well, time to get started on the next chapter! Let's see what this relic is hiding._

Day 2 - Part 2

Pink ran her hand over the strange letters on the wall, while Blue squinted into the darkness ahead of them. He kept this up for a total of ten minutes while Pink muttered under her breath, trying to translate the weird letters.

"...Something... _On_... _Guard_... _H... U..._" Pink crossed her arms. "It's too dark and too worn to make out much else..."

"I still don't get how you can even see in this light," Blue muttered, skimming their surroundings, or at least what he could see of them. The two had entered the Unknown Relic and quickly found that there weren't exactly many light sources, especially as they got further underground. The relic itself was old, worn, and overtaken by the effects of time, with strange writing on the walls that seemed to resemble deformed, rounded human letters with a single eye.

Pink shrugged. "Maybe Clefairy can just see well in the dark?" she offered, before continuing down the hallway they were in. Blue followed, making sure to not let her out of his sight. He didn't really want to get lost in a place that he knew nothing about when he couldn't see anything. If he _could_ see, he'd be fine with it, but not being able to see was a problem.

Blue and Pink walked in relative silence, managing another two floors before Blue felt Pink's hand wrap around his. He turned to where she was in confusion, only to be met with what he assumed was a worried expression - it was really too dark to tell.

"I can't see that well anymore," she said, tugging his arm gently. The two began walking, far more carefully and slowly. Their slowed pace meant it took them fifteen minutes to find the stairs leading to the next floor, and they carefully navigated their way downwards.

The room they emerged in was large, they could tell that much. It was hard to determine much else, though, due to the fact that it was so dark. Blue and Pink began walking forwards, on high alert. Their footsteps echoed throughout the room, seeming to be much louder than they should be. Pink seemed to notice, and hit the floor a few times with her foot, sending the sound rebounding off of the walls around them.

This turned out to be a very bad idea, as their ears were suddenly filled with a loud _buzzing _and _humming _sound, one that seemed to echo around their thoughts as well as the room itself. Pink and Blue both yelled out from the pain caused by the loud noise, covering their ears with their hands and wincing as the wind in the room seemed to pick up.

"Wh-What's going on!?" Blue yelled over the noise, standing back-to-back with Pink and scanning the room in hopes of seeing what was going on. It was no use - it was too dark to see anything.

"I'm not su- _ack!_" Pink yelped, and Blue felt her press into his back. "S-Something just hit me!"

Blue didn't have a chance to ask what it was, since he was hit by it shortly afterwards. It felt like fire, so it didn't hurt that much, but then another one hit him that felt like steel and that hurt a bit more. He inhaled and shot a _Water Gun _forwards, and was grateful when he heard a sound that he identified as something getting hit.

"Pink! There's something in the air around us! Try attacking!" he called to his partner, turning his head to look at her. Pink nodded in response, and he recognized the glow around her fingers as preparation for a Metronome attack.

"I hope this works...!" Pink called, and Blue had the foresight to cover his eyes when she started to glow white. Her body released a brilliant _Flash_, and light flooded the room, illuminating their surroundings. When Pink gasped "These are- the letters from the walls-" Blue opened his eyes... and his mouth dropped at what he saw.

Spiraling around them in droves were what could only be described as a _horde _of Unown. At least one of each variation, spinning, spiraling, moving around them in circles, blocking off any chance of escape. Blue quickly identified them as the source of the _buzzing _and _humming__, _and he gripped his head as words and messages began forming in his mind, barely noticing Pink do the same.

_HUMAN FROM ANOTHER WORLD._

Blue's eyes went wide. They were talking to Pink? Maybe they didn't intend for him to hear this as well. But either way, it was confirmation that she was, in fact, a human. Pink seemed to have realized the same, as she began to say something, but he didn't catch it when the Unown spoke again.

_THIS IS NOT WHERE YOU SHOULD BE._

Not where she should be? Blue almost wanted to hit something, but this was a potential source of information.

_THERE IS NOT A CRISIS. THE EON GUARDIANS HAVE NOT SUMMONED YOU._

Their tone didn't seem to be a happy one. Were they... mad? And what did they mean by _The Eon Guardians have not summoned you_? Did that mean there were times when humans were _supposed _to be in the world of Pokémon, but this wasn't one of them? If that was the case, why was Pink here?

_LEAVE THIS PLACE AT ONCE!_

At these words, the Unown began releasing a barrage of _Hidden Powers_ on Blue and Pink. The two began scrambling to dodge, being hit by some and narrowly avoiding others. With their vision back, this was going much better than it had before, but they were still heavily outnumbered.

"Blue!" Pink called back to her partner. "When I throw you, spin around and use that water thing you do!"

Blue looked over his shoulder at her. "When you _what?!_" He didn't get a chance to question it further as Pink grabbed his tail and threw him straight at the Unown. Blue grinned, pulling himself into his shell and using _Rapid Spin_, while at the same time releasing a _Water Gun_. The combined attacks created a spiral of water that knocked several of the Unown into unconsciousness. Blue bounced off of the wall, still in the safety of his shell, before pulling himself out and landing on his feet, just in time to see Pink dispatch several more Unown using her martial arts.

That was when the Unown _swarmed _her. Pink quickly became overwhelmed by their numbers - for every one she managed to take down, three would take its place. Blue tried to run to her aid, but there were too many for him to break through and help her.

"Get away..." Pink muttered, lifting her fingers. "Get away..." she spoke louder, wagging her fingers back and forth. "_GET AWAY!"_

She shone. Blue's eyes went wide as he realized what was happening, and he quickly retreated into his shell. The Unown's eyes went wide, and they turned to flee... but it was too late. Pink released a massive _Explosion_, and everything to blow up. The Unown were wracked with explosions, knocking them out systematically until they had collapsed everywhere. But the explosions weren't finished. They began hitting the ruins around them. Blue pulled himself out of his shell, running over to Pink's side, who was in a state of panic from the explosions. He grabbed her arm, pulling her back the way they'd come. It became a mad dash to the exit, with the two barely making it out before the ruins collapsed. Blue fell onto his stomach as Pink fell onto her back, both gasping for breath.

"I... I'm sorry..." Pink managed to say. "I... I panicked..."

"Don't... worry about it..." Blue gasped out. "If you hadn't... we might have lost..."

Pink just nodded, then paused. "Hey... are those... the Rapidash that... brought us here?"

Blue looked up, noticing that the two Rapidash who had brought them there were indeed returning. They pulled to a halt in front of the two. "What in the world happened? We heard explosions and came running!"

"Th...That was my bad..." Pink awkwardly laughed. "I... Metronomed out... an Explosion..."

The two Rapidash exchanged glances, before one picked up Pink using its mouth and setting her on the other's back. The other did the same thing with Blue. "We'll take you back to the Guild. Get some rest, you two."

They nodded, and the Rapidash began heading back. Blue looked over at Pink. "Hey... sorry that this was a dead end..."

Pink shook her head. "It... don't worry. I got confirmation about myself..." she smiled. "That's... more than I could have hoped for."

Blue smiled back at her, before feeling the effects of his exhaustion begin to take their hold. "Mission... complete?"

Pink closed her eyes. "Mission... complete."


	4. Day 3 - Part 1

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_I was woken up by my smoke alarm needing a new battery and now I can't go back to sleep. So, here, have an update. It's a bit shorter than the others but, well, eh, never expected them to be long in the first place._

Day 3 - Part 1

Blue was once again woken up by the sounds of Pink's morning workout, and much to his dismay, he couldn't fall back asleep once she'd woken him up. When he'd groaned about still being tired, she had suggested coffee, which had led to an hour long discussion about the various differences between human and Pokemon food, albeit somewhat one sided due to Pink only having a vague recollection on the subject.

When they heard other Pokemon filing out of their rooms, Pink and Blue headed out to the mission boards, where Pink agreed to a rescue mission. They scanned the board for a while, until Blue snatched one off of it and read it out loud.

_"We messed up!"_ was the opening descriptor. Blue and Pink exchanged glances before he continued to read. _"We heard rumors about a strong Pokemon in Rocky Cavern and came to challenge it, but it's too much for us! Please help!"_ Blue didn't even bother reading the reward as he grinned at Pink.

"Sounds like it may be fun," Pink nodded, her body quivering with excitement. Her face was split by a wide grin, and the two found themselves in Treasure Town not long after to gather supplies. Before long, they were stocked up, and had headed to the crossroads, where the two Rapidash from yesterday were waiting for them.

"How are you two feeling?" the first asked Pink.

Pink gripped her arm with her hand and held her hand up in a fist in response. "Doing great and ready for anything!" she grinned, jabbing the air a few times to punctuate the message. The Rapidash lowered themselves so that Blue and Pink could climb on, and before long they were on their way to Rocky Cavern.

It was about ten minutes into their trip that Blue spoke up. "Say, Rapidash," Blue spoke to the one he was riding on, "Have you taken anyone else out to the Rocky Cavern?"

"Now that you mention it," the Rapidash nodded thoughtfully, "We gave a ride to two very eager Pokemon."

"What species?" Blue asked. "They may be the ones we're meant to rescue."

"One was a Magby, and the other was an Elekid," the other Rapidash recalled. "They were really a rather cute couple, I think, but they didn't seem very experienced."

Blue nodded as they arrived and got off of their mounts. "Thanks for the lift, you two," he grinned. "Come on, Pink, we have some Pokemon to rescue!"

"Roger that, Blue!" Pink saluted, and Blue found himself wondering when he had become their impromptu team leader, despite that - loathe as he was to admit it - Pink was most definitely stronger than him. He shook the thought aside as the two entered the cavern.

Blue paused as he examined the walls. "Hey, Pink," he spoke up. "Someone's etched arrows into the wall." He pointed at the arrows that had been drawn with, by the looks of it, a stick, on the walls as he said this.

Pink nodded. "Let's follow them!" she decided. "We may find our clients if we do!"

Deciding that they could handle it if it were a trap, Blue agreed, and before long they had arrived in a winding corridor. Pink paused, lifting her hand to stop her teammate. "Hey, do you hear that?"

"Hear wh-" Blue stopped himself when he began to hear faint footsteps, rapidly getting closer. "Footsteps?"

"Sounds like... Someone's running," Pink frowned. "But only one set of feet..."

She turned a corner to investigate, only to be knocked backwards as an Elekid went toppling into her, the two winding up as one jumbled pile of Pokémon on the ground. Blue went over and cautiously untangled them, then offered his hand to the Elekid.

"Yo!" he grinned. "Name's Blue, and that's Pink. We're here to rescue you."

The Elekid gasped for air, catching her breath as she nodded and allowed herself to be helped up. "I- I'm Yellow," she greeted, and Blue and Pink exchanged glances. "Please! You have to help me! Red, he's - he's still fighting that... that _thing_ back there!"

"Huh?" Pink asked. "What thing?"

As if to answer her question, an ear-splitting screech sounded from deeper in the cavern, the direction that Yellow had been coming from.

_**"REEEEEEGGGGGGGIIIIIIII!"**_


	5. Day 3 - Part 2

_**Ink's Notes: **_

_Apparently, not being able to sleep leads to new chapters. Shall we begin?_

Day 3 - Part 2

Red was _not _having a good day.

He and Yellow had arrived in the Rocky Cavern hoping to prove their strength and become famous, and show the world how awesome they were. Instead, they'd wound up wandering in circles for what must have been _hours_ before they found the 'monster'.

And if that weren't bad enough, the supposed 'monster' of the Rocky Cavern had turned out to be a _Regirock_, of all things. Red was _not_ happy. It could have been literally _any _of the other Regis- he could have fried those in a second- but _no_, it had to be the _one _Regi he was weak against and that had spent the better part of ten minutes completely and utterly _thrashing_ the two of them. He'd sent Yellow off to send out a rescue notice, but she hadn't come back yet, and much to the Magby's dismay, he was quickly discovering that she was the only thing keeping the fight from being a total curb-stomp, and so Red had spent the last half an hour running and hiding - _purely strategically of course _\- and occasionally getting a blow in on the monstrous titan of a Pokémon. Granted, the blows didn't seem to be doing much, but _something _was better than _nothing_, right?

Red leapt out of his hiding spot again and released what he was hoping was a _Flamethrower_ at the Regirock, but wound up being more of an _Ember_ on account of how tired he was. The attack barely hurt it, and it turned around, **_screeching_** loudly. Red was forced to cover his ears as the behemoth of a Pokémon brought its arm back to swing a punch at him...

...only to get kicked in the face by a Clefairy, and get knocked back by said kick.

Red felt his jaw drop as he landed and Yellow ran over to him, asking if he was okay and saying that a team had come to help and everything would be fine now. He was about to ask how a Clefairy was meant to beat a Regirock when the Squirtle showed up and hit the giant statue with a well-aimed Water Pulse.

The Clefairy turned and waved to the two of them. "Hi! You must be Red," she greeted. "I'm Pink, and this is Blue. We're Team Rangers!"

Red blinked slowly as he processed this information. "Pink and... Blue?" he repeated dumbly.

"Yeah, yeah, we can comment on the odds of us all naming ourselves after colors later, right now we have a Regirock to beat up," Blue waved off his concerns as he took up what Red assumed was a 'ready' stance to launch another water attack at the Regirock that was slowly getting to its feet.

Pink noticed this right away and turned to Blue as she slid into a fighting stance that Red had seen some Machops use before. "Hey, how hard did you hit it?" she asked. "It's kind of sluggish."

"Don't let tha**_zzt_** fool you," Yellow scolded, bouncing over to their side as she sparked with electricity, already charging power for another attack. "It's just slow natura**_zzt_**ly."

Blue and Pink both stared at Yellow as Red joined the impromptu group. "...What?" they chimed in sync.

"Ywllow here tends to overcharge herself with electricity," Red sighed. "Especially during fights. You get used to it after a while."

Pink shrugged it off, but Blue seemed to be considering that prospect. "Hey, Pink, Red. Keep it pinned in that location." He grinned. "When we give the all clear, move, and Yellow and I will hit it with water and electricity at the same time."

Red, Yellow, and Pink stared for a minute, before simultaneously getting identical feral grins. "Sounds like a challenge!" Pink declared, stretching before charging in. "See if you can keep up, Red-head!"

"Did you seriously just call me that?!" Red complained as he chased after her. Before long, the two were hitting the Regirock from either side. Red was hitting it with fire attacks then punching or kicking those areas for more damage. Pink was applying her martial arts skills with insane mastery, periodically throwing a _Metronome _into the mix. Red idly noted that she seemed to be extremely lucky and was consistently getting water and grass attacks to hit the rock type with.

"Let's do one more!" she exclaimed, wagging her fingers back and forth. "**_Randomize!_**"

That time, when she pointed at the Regirock, a sleek web-like substance shot from her hands, encasing the golem in a _Spider Web_. She and Red exchanged glances, then quickly dashed back to where Blue and Yellow were waiting. While the Regirock struggled against its bonds, Blue released a massive _Water Pulse_ \- Red might have initially mistaken it for a _Hydro Pump_ \- while Yellow shot a huge _Thunderbolt _at it. The _Water Pulse _hit first for massive damage, followed by the _Thunderbolt _electrocuting it and only being powered up by the golem's soaked state.

The Regirock screeched out in pain, prompting the entire group to cover their ears _(Red had always wondered where a Squirtle's ears were)_, before collapsing and ceasing all movement. The group waited... and waited... and waited... before determining it wasn't getting up again.

"Okay...!" Blue exhaled in relief. "How about we head back to the guild?"


	6. Day 3 - Part 3

_**Ink's Notes: **_

_I seem to write a lot of chapters for this when I can't sleep... anyway, this is the last part of Day 3, just winding down before we move on to Day 4~! Hope you enjoy it!_

Day 3 - Part 3

Wigglytuff's Guild was seen as the epitome of a peaceful civilization, one where Pokémon could put aside their differences and work together for the sake of a common goal or to help those they had never even met before. The guild was the pillar of the morals behind this, where the Pokémon who worked at the guild were the peaceful, noble, reasonable, yet fun loving sort that you could easily get along with.

"You want us to **_WHAT?!_**"

Of course, Red wasn't exactly a member of the guild. Yet, if Blue had anything to say about it.

"I was impressed by your performance today," Blue explained between bites of his meal. Pink was eating off to the side with all the table manners of a slob, while Red and Yellow sat across from Blue, having already finished their food. "So I want you guys to join Team Rangers."

"But we were getting tha**_zzt_** by the Regirock before you guys showed up," Yellow pointed out.

Blue shook his head and pointed at them. "Not only did you hold out long enough for us to get there, but you were instrumental in defeating it despite your exhaustion from facing it before," he reasoned, then took another bite out of his meal.

Red was silent for a moment. "I... don't know. The two of us, we... we wanted to prove out strength, but we only proved how weak we are."

"Nah, not true, Red-head!" Red snapped his attention to Pink, partly out of anger from that stupid nickname, as she stuffed her face with food, speaking between bites. "Admittance to weakness is the first step in getting stronger!"

Yellow spoke the question on Red's mind. "How **_zzt_**so?"

"Well-" Pink paused to drink some water. "If you consider yourself the best," she chomped down on a berry. "Then you won't try to improve." She stuffed the rest of the berry into her mouth. "But if you-" she chewed and swallowed. "Acknowledge you're weak, you can train to get better."

Red and Yellow looked to Blue as he finished his food and wiped his mouth with his arm. "She's a hardcore martial artist. She knows this stuff."

"I... see..." Red sweatdropped. "But... what does being on an exploration team even entail?"

"Exploring," Pink spoke up, counting off on her fingers as she listed things. "Rescuing." She considered it a moment, then added, "Helping people."

Red and Yellow simultaneously wondered what a _people _was, before Blue cleared his throat. "Anyway, I figure we could use a Red and Yellow Ranger on the team. More of us means that challenges are easier to take down. Plus, if Pink..." His eyes went to the Clefairy, who was going to get another plate of food.

"If Pink wha**_zzt_**?" Yellow prompted, but Blue only shook his head.

"Nevermind. It's for her to share, if it comes to that. Not important, anyway." Blue shrugged to pass off how important that Pink being human actually _was_, especially considering that...

...Well, he'd asked Chatot and Wigglytuff about humans when they got back from rescuing Red and Yellow. They'd asked him why he had asked, and he explained that they found something or other about them in that Unknown Relic, but had been too tired to bring it up and he hadn't been seen the two before setting out today.

Chatot had led him into the Guildmaster's room and Wigglytuff had closed the door behind them. He told Blue to sit down, and the Squirtle had complied. Chatot had then told Blue a story. Many years ago, back when he and Wigglytuff _(a Jigglypuff at the time) _were still rookies, they had encountered a strange Pokémon with no memories of themselves aside from their own name. They'd said they just woke up one days as a Pokémon, and insisted they were a human. The two had agreed to help them figure out the cause, and wound up helping to save the world from a massive conflict between Groudon and Kyogre by enlisting the help of Rayquaza. At that point, the _Eon Guardians _had appeared, told the human-turned-Pokémon that their job here was done, and sent them home.

Blue had mulled this over for a while, then said he understood and he was sorry to bring it up. He then went to join Pink, Red and Yellow for dinner.

Blue sighed. If something similar had happened to Pink, then she'd likely go home once whatever it was she was here for was done. But at the same time... he looked to the ceiling as he thought back to what had happened at the Unknown Relic. Those Unown... they'd said she wasn't meant to be there. That the Eon Guardians hadn't summoned her. So... maybe she wouldn't leave? But then why was she even in their world in the first place?

"Hey, Blue," Red spoke up, snapping him out of is trance. "Do you think... if we join your team, we'll get stronger?"

"Oh, definitely!" Pink grinned as she returned to their table. "We plan on going to all sorts of places and investigating all kinds of things and rescuing all kinds of Pokémon!"

Yellow smiled. "Well, count me in_**zzt**_!" she exclaimed, thumping her chest with her hand.

Red looked over at his friend, the one he'd known for most of his life. She was always the voice of reason _(relatively speaking) _and his support when he needed it. He saw nothing but determination, conviction and drive in her eyes. He made his decision. "Well, I'm in too. Consider us your newest members of Team Rangers!"

Blue grinned, then put his hand out. Pink smiled, catching on quickly, and placed her hand on top of his. Red and Yellow exchanged glances, then followed suit.

"All right! Let's show the world what we're made of!" Blue cheered.

* * *

It was that night, once Red and Yellow had already fallen asleep, that Blue found himself being nudged by Pink. He tried to pretend he was sleeping, but when she informed him in a hushed voice that she could tell he was awake, he sat up and turned to face her.

"What's on your mind?" she asked. "You look distracted and seem restless."

Blue sighed. "Just... thinking, I guess." He scratched behind his head. "What happens when we figure out why you're here? Like, if it's threatening the world, do we stop it? Or... I mean, I don't really understand, but... if you do what you're here to do, do you... leave?"

Pink frowned, crossing her arms and tilting her head from side to side. "I dunno," she said after a while. "Those Unown said I wasn't supposed to be here, so maybe I'm just here forever?" Blue didn't want to tell her that the prospect of this made him happy. "But... at the same time, if I shouldn't be here, maybe they'll... try to get rid of me. Send me back, you know?"

Blue frowned. "I..." he looked Pink in the eyes. "It's selfish of me, but... I want you to stay. You're my first real friend, and I..."

Pink smiled and pat him on the head. "Go to sleep, Blue. Another day of rescuing tomorrow." Blue sighed and lay back down, rolling onto his side to try and sleep again. Just as he was closing his eyes, he heard Pink settle onto her bed and mutter softly, "I want me to stay too..."


	7. Day 4 - Part 1

_**Ink's Notes: **_

_It's been kind of a happy accident that the Days have been lasting as long as their number (Day 1 lasting 1 chapter, etc), but I don't think that's going to keep happening as the day number increases. Anyway, once again I had problems sleeping, so we have another chapter. This is... sort of becoming a thing. I probably shouldn't make a habit out of it._

_Also, I don't know if I made this clear when it first came up, but it comes up again here so I figure I'll mention it - I'm like 90% sure they don't have clocks in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon setting, so times are referred to based on where the sun is. 'On the horizon' is dawn or dusk, which I assume is about 6 in the morning or 6 in the evening, 45º overhead is either 9 AM or 3 PM, and 90º overhead is noon (12 PM). The prior readings are when it's rising while the latter readings are when it's setting. It's just something I figured would make sense - Pokémon clearly have days and time frames (as noted when they point out they've been running for days, or they have a certain amount of days until something happens), but I don't think they actually have clocks and other methods of telling time aside from the position of the sun. (And everyone probably goes to bed once it's set, so keeping track of time during the night wouldn't have much of a point, either.)_

_Anyway, that's enough random worldbuilding from me. On with the chapter! _

Day 4 - Part 1

Much to his dismay, Blue quickly discovered that the newest members of Team Rangers were early risers, and when he sat up, groggy after a restless night, Pink had paused her morning workout to inform him that Red and Yellow had already headed out to the request boards to pick their next mission.

This had been enough to pull him into a state of alertness, and he was about to go outside to make sure they didn't pick a stupid mission when the two returned with a notice from Chatot. They handed it to Pink, who quickly discovered that while being turned into a Pokémon had given her the ability to _speak_ their language, she couldn't actually _read_ it. Pink passed the note to Blue, who rubbed his eyes to clear his vision and began reading it out loud.

"Rescue Request... Issued by Chatot. Yesterday, when the sun was 90º overhead, a Treeko by the name of Green entered the guild and asked for a map to lead him to the Icy Cavern. We have not heard from him since then and are requesting that you travel to the Icy Cavern to make sure he has not met with a terrible fate."

"Icy Caver_**zzt**_?" Yellow questioned, crossing her arms in contemplation. "That place... I think there_**zzt**_another Regi there. Probably Regice, if us meeting Regirock at the Rocky Cavern was any indicatio**_zzt_**."

Red nodded. "It was one of the places that came up when we were researching locations with strong opponents, alongside Iron Cavern," he recalled. "Why don't we check that place out tomorrow?"

Pink nodded. "These Regis might know something..." she muttered. When Red and Yellow turned their gaze to her, she quickly waved her hands back and forth in front of herself. "Just thinking-! They may know about more strong opponents we can get stronger by fighting!"

This seemed to satisfy them, and they turned to look at Blue as he muttered, "If they can even talk," as he put the request into his bag. "Come on, let's go stock up on supplies."

The four headed to Treasure Town, where they learned while shopping that this 'Green' character had apparently packed a lot of supplies for a dangerous dungeon or battle. They decided to follow his example, and before long Red had been relegated to second supply bag carrying duty.

When Team Rangers went to meet up with the Rapidash, they found a Ponyta with them as well. One of the Rapidash informed them that she was her daughter, and explained that she was training to carry Pokémon to and from dungeons like her family before her. Pink thought this was very noble and honorable of her, and decided to help her by giving her practice with a passenger, while Blue took one of the Rapidash and Red and Yellow shared the other. Before long, they were all well on their way to the Icy Cavern.

Once they arrived, the group quickly discovered that the Icy Cavern was called that for a reason - it was covered in ice and thus cold as anything. The team quickly huddled around Red, finding that he had a peculiar natural warmth as a fire-type. Once they had warmed up a little bit, Team Rangers traveled into the cave, sticking together as they looked for Green... or at least, that was the plan.

No sooner than they'd found a large room in the cavern, they saw the telltale signs of a major battle having taken place recently. Slash marks and leaves were scattered around the area, looking very fresh, while crystalline ice decorated other places. The ice that the cavern was covered in was cracked in several places, some of the cracks covering more area than others.

"What in the world..." Blue breathed out, only to be shooshed by Pink. He was about to get upset when he realized she was on high alert, looking around the area.

"...The fight's still happening," she frowned, her gaze falling on a pathway off to the side. "It's faint, but... I hear cries, and running... it's echoing off the ice and the walls..."

Red nodded and began leading the way, the group following him largely because they didn't want to get split up and because they didn't want their source of warmth running off on them. As they turned a few corners, the sounds started becoming more and more clear, until they stopped somewhat abruptly. The group came to a halt, looking around in confusion, when suddenly a pair of vines wrapped around them and pulled them into a small alcove.

Yellow was about to yell in anger when a foot pressed into her mouth to shoosh her. She paused, blinked, and took in the same thing her teammates were processing at that moment in time.

Standing before them was a Treeko who looked exhausted, like he'd been beaten senseless, and was struggling to stand. Two vines were protruding out of his back, though he wasn't doing it by choice any longer - his entire torso, including his arms and the backpack that was likely filled with supplies that he was wearing on his back - had been frozen solid.

The Treeko offered them a weak grin, before pulling them out of sight and glancing out of the alcove just as the golem of ice floated past, scanning the area for its prey while releasing an ear-splitting screech.

"**_REEEEEEEGGGGIIIIICCCEEEE!_**"


	8. Day 4 - Part 2

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_I had the first... I dunno, three fourths of this written for a while, but didn't really know how to end it. So I decided to just put it all here and see if anything came up. Took a few creative liberties with how berries work but... well... I dunno it makes sense to me._

Day 4 - Part 2

It was only once the Regice had moved past their hiding place, and Pink confirmed that she could no longer hear it, that Team Rangers turned to the Treeko for an explanation. Red and Yellow were glaring at him, Blue looked mildly annoyed, and Pink just had a blank look on her face.

"...What?" he asked, and Pink got the feeling that if he could move his arms he'd have folded them across his chest.

"Why would you come seeking a fight against a Pokémon you're weak to?" Red asked. Pink mentally noted that he seemed to be ignoring the fact that he'd met her and Blue while fighting a Regirock.

"For your information," the Treeko frowned, narrowing his eyes at the enraged Magby, "I didn't. I had no idea that there was a Regice here. I thought it'd just be a bunch of weaker ice-types that I could take care of easily."

"Then why pack so many suppli_**zzt**_?" Yellow cut in, placing her hands on her hips and tapping one of her feet. Blue quickly stepped on it to stop the noise from echoing throughout the cavern.

"I didn't know how long I'd be here," he responded. "And even if I can handle weak ice-types, they're still _ice _types. Being prepared comes in handy." He tapped the ice on his torso with one of the vines. "But I can't get this off, it's not melting because of the cold, and all the Aspear Berries I packed are in my backpack."

"Got it covered!" Pink grinned, rummaging through the bag at Blue's side. When he yelped in surprise, she covered his mouth. "We were sent to help the Treeko named Green, remember? As far as I'm concerned, this is helping him." She produced an Aspear Berry from the bag and walked over to the Treeko.

"Ah- thanks," he frowned, awkwardly tilting his head slightly to the side. "But, how do you know my name?"

"Chatot sent us," Blue explained. "We're an exploration team. Team Rangers, to be precise. I'm Blue, the Clefairy is Pink, the Magby is Red and the Elekid is Yellow."

Green nodded, then chomped down on the berry when Pink held it up to his mouth. Before long, his body began to radiate warmth, and the ice simply melted off of him. He sighed in relief, using one of his vines to retrieve an Oran Berry from his backpack, which he quickly ate as he retracted the vines. As he did, his injuries began to heal themselves, and before long he was stretching his arms with a smile. "Thanks. I owe you guys one," he said.

"You can start making it up to us by telling us why you came here. Especially if you didn't know about the Regice." Blue crossed his arms before he continued. "We're gonna beat it up regardless, but if you didn't come here to test your strength against it, then why come here?"

"Because there are Nevermeltices here," Green sighed, leaning his head into his hand. "My big sister got too close to a Heatran, and came down with a massive fever... I figured a Nevermeltice would bring her fever down and help her feel better." He looked out of the alcove they were hiding in. "I found where they are, but just as I was about to grab one, the Regice showed up and attacked me. I've been fighting it off ever since."

"Wow!" Pink smiled widely. "You've been fending it off all on your own?"

Green shook his head. "I've been hitting it with Stun Spore, then using everything I've got against it, but it's not very effective and for every one good hit I get in, it gets in three..." he groaned, then paused and mentally backtracked. "Wait, hang on. What's this about beating it up regardless?"

"You heard me," Blue grinned. "We took out Regirock already. A Regice shouldn't be a problem, especially with Red's fire, Pink's luck and martial arts, and a fifth team member."

Green blinked as Yellow turned too face Blue. "Did you just recrui**_zzt_**him? Please tell me you didn't just recrui_**zzt**_him."

"Why not? He's capable, and his name is a color. He'd make a good Green Ranger."

Red mentally wondered if those were Blue's only requirements for becoming a member of Team Rangers while Yellow cradled her head in her hands. "Oh, Arceu_**zzt**_..."

Pink quickly shooshed them and pushed them under cover again as the Regice moved past their hiding spot again. Once it had its back to them, she grabbed Red by the wrist and pulled him out. Taking the hint, he inhaled while she waggled her fingers, and he released a _Flamethrower_ at the same time she Metronome'd a _Flame_ _Wheel, _dealing more damage with it by combining it with her martial arts. The Regice screeched in pain as the rest of Team Rangers, including the newly recruited Green, ran out to join them. Yellow charged herself with electricity as Blue shot a _Water Pulse_ at the downed golem, and once he was finished she hit it with a _Thunderbolt_ to deal even more damage. Green, taking the hint, leapt into the air and tossed a _Stun Spore _at the Regice, paralyzing it as he leaves gathered around him and he shot a _Razor Leaf _at the Regice.

As he landed, he looked over at Red, who had a cocky grin on his face. "Hah! Take _that, _you dumb golem!" Red laughed, crossing his arms out of pride.

The Regice didn't seem to appreciate this, and moved to grab Pink, who was still close to it thanks to her attack. However, Pink didn't seem to appreciate _that_, and before long all four of the other members of Team Rangers felt their jaws hit the ground as Pink performed a shoulder throw on a Pokémon that was almost three times her size and who knows how many times her weight.

A loud **_crack_**echoed through the cavern as the Regice broke the ice beneath it, and gained a few cracks in its own body. It screeched loudly as it attempted to get to its feet, only to fall back onto the ground, unconscious.

Pink exhaled through her nose _(assuming Clefairy have noses)_ and crossed her arms."Jerk," she huffed, then looked over at Green. "So. Where are those Nevermeltices?"

About twenty minutes later, Team Rangers had left the cavern, carrying a Nevermeltice wrapped in a leaf. Green took out a map from his bag and began looking it over, then walked towards a nearby forest.

"Hey, where are you going?" Blue asked with a frown. "We need to head back to the guild."

"No, _I _need to get this to my sister," he waved the Nevermeltice at them. Blue was about to complain, but then Green added, "Aren't you coming? I'd like to introduce her to my new team members."

Blue and Pink grinned, while Red and Yellow just sighed. With that, Team Rangers headed into the underbrush of the forest ahead.


	9. Day 4 - Part 3

_**Ink's Notes: **_

_And here we go with our next day! This is the final part of Day 4. We get a bit of plot and world development here, but no fighting, alas. Then again they can't all be fighting. And plot is necessary. Anyway, let's get right to it!_

Day 4 - Part 3

An hour and a half, several complaints about a lack of Rapidash, and a very awkward (for Blue, Red and Yellow) climb up a tree later, Team Rangers found themselves standing in a treehouse where a Grovyle lay on a bed, sweating and almost looking red from a fever.

Green walked up to her and unwrapped the Nevermeltice, placing it on her chest. "Hey, Bang. I'm back."

The Grovyle turned her head to look at Green as she slowly opened her eyes. "...Green? You're back..." she weakly smiled, wrapping her hands around the Nevermeltice and holding it close to her chest.

"I- yeah. I brought some friends- ah, teammates. This is Blue, Pink, Red and Yellow of Team Rangers. They- kind of recruited me," he scratched behind his head, looking away "So- I'll be leaving again, and..."

The Grobyle gently nodded, using her vine to turn Green's face back to her. "I'm happy for you," she softly spoke, moving her legs off of the bed and sitting on it to survey the assembly of Pokémon before her. She didn't look much different from other Grovyle, aside from the three scars on her chest that looked like they'd been caused by someone's claws and the dark green scarf around her neck.

"AAAHHH-!" Blue suddenly yelped, pointing a shaking hand at her. "You're Bangladesh! The leader of Team Strike Squad!"

"Team... Strike Squad?" Pink asked, looking between Bangladesh and her three very surprised teammates.

"You don't know who_**zzt**_Team Strike Squad i**_zzt_**?!" Yellow practically demanded.

Pink shook her head. "I've lost most of my memories, so..." Bangladesh's eyes narrowed at her, though Pink didn't seem to notice.

This seemed to calm them down a bit. "Team Strike Squad, composed of Bangladesh - a Treeko at the time - and two others, a Zigzagoon named Chase and a Beautifly named Phil - are a legendary exploration team," Red explained. "Years ago, they saved the world from a massive disaster. But lately, no one's heard from them." He eyed the Nevermeltice that Green was helping Bangladesh fashion into a necklace. "...I suppose this is why."

She nodded sadly. "I'm not much good for explorations right now, I'm afraid. As far as Chase and Phil go, they went to visit family. They should be back in a few days, though. If you want, you can stay until they get back."

Blue shook his head. "It'd be an honor, ma'am, but we have to get back to the guild. I hope you feel better soon."

Bangladesh nodded, then paused. "...Before you go. Green, the box in the other room?" Green nodded and walked out of the room, and Bangladesh watched him go. She then turned back to Team Rangers. "Hey. I have a favor to ask."

Pink blinked. "What's up?" she asked.

Bangladesh smiled weakly. "Take care of him for me, okay? I know he's strong and can handle himself, but... he's still my little brother. Aside from Chase and Phil, he's all I have left."

Blue nodded with a smile. "You inspired me to form a team, ma'am. It's the least I can do."

Bangladesh's expression softened as Green returned, carrying a box with his vines. "Here we are," he nodded, setting it down and opening it. Inside were various scarves, headbands and other accessories of all shapes, sizes, and colors.

"So that you guys can tell each other apart, even if you run into other Pokémon of your species," Bangladesh smiled.

"...Thanks, Bang," Green smiled, taking a leaf green scarf and tying it around his neck, just like his sister's. Blue picked out a light blue scarf that he also put around his neck, while Red helped Yellow put a dark yellow bandanna around her left arm and Yellow helped Red put a dark red scarf around his neck. Pink shifted through them for a while before picking a dark pink scarf that she tied around her forehead.

"Take them with you. In case you decide you want more teammates," Bangladesh smiled. "And, Green... thanks for this." She fingered the Nevermeltice. "I'm already starting to feel better."

Green sighed. "Thank them. If they hadn't come along..."

Bangladesh nodded and turned her smile to the rest of Team Rangers. "Then, thank you all. I won't keep you any longer. You can go." Team Rangers nodded and began filing out of the house, Green carrying the box of accessories. "Ah, Pink, was it? Wait up a second."

Pink turned and looked over at Bangladesh. "Huh?" she blinked a few times, "What's up?"

"You should tell them," she motioned to where Pink's teammates were struggling to get down to the ground. "About you being human."

Pink froze. "H-How did you-"

"Pokémon who used to be human will lose their memories from the trauma of the transformation," Bangladesh explained. "The Eon Guardians said so themselves."

"The Eon..." Pink muttered, thoughts drifting back to her second day as a Pokémon, when the Unown had said something about the Eon Guardians.

"There's a Pokémon named Black who knows where to find them. I heard he was going to check out the Iron Cavern." Bangladesh weakly smiled. "I think your team leader would be eager to recruit him, too, considering your current naming theme."

Pink slowly nodded. "I... um... thank you," she said with a bow, then dashed out to catch up with her team.

An hour and a half, meeting up with the Rapidash and Ponyta, and then another half an hour later, Team Rangers was sitting and eating a late dinner in their room.

Once they finished eating, Bangladesh's words echoing through her mind, Pink cleared her throat, looked in her teammates' eyes, and said that she had something important to tell them.


	10. Day 5 - Part 1

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_Been a while since I updated this one. Let's cut right to the chase~!_

Day 5 - Part 1

Blue woke up the next morning to find Pink answering as many questions as she could about herself and her situation courtesy of Red and Green, a note on Yellow's bed saying she was going to get a map to the Iron Cavern from Chatot, and a strange feeling on his face. A quick _Water Gun _into a bucket revealed that someone had drawn on his face while he was asleep, and by the time he'd washed it off, Yellow had returned with the map and the team was making sure that they had everything they needed together.

"So while we're there, we needa look for someone called Black," Pink explained, ignoring the sparkles in Blue's eyes at that statement. "Apparently, he knows where to find the Eon Guardians."

"A Black Ranger, huh...?" Blue asked, rubbing his chin contemplatively.

"Were you even li**_zzt_**ening? He knows where the Eon Guardians are, so we need to get him to take u**_zzt_**to them so we can ask about Pink!" Yellow buzzed at Blue.

"Sounds like a plan! Let's get what we need and head to the Iron Cavern to recruit us a teammate!" He grinned widely as the rest of the team facepalmed, wondering if he had even registered what Yellow had said. "Red, Registeel is, well, obviously a steel type, so we're counting on you."

Red's grin turned downright feral, and Green, as discreetly as he could _(that is, with as much effort to be as obvious as possible), _took a step away from Red and towards Blue.

"Let's split into groups," Green offered. "Red and Yellow buy things, and Blue, Pink and I will get things from storage."

The team found this agreeable, and before long they had gathered the necessary supplies and were checking the map to figure out how to get to the Iron Cavern, the Rapidash and Ponyta looking over their shoulders.

"All right, so it's kind of... between the Rocky and Icy Caverns..." Red noted. "Shortest path would be... like this," he traced a route with his finger along the map. The Rapidash nodded and motioned to their backs, and before long Pink and Blue were on one, Red and Yellow were on another, and Green was on the Ponyta since it had the least fire.

"Shall we be off, then?" they asked, and without waiting for a reply, they charged off towards the Iron Cavern. Green rattled off a few complaints about being burnt on the way over, but other than that it was an uneventful trip.

When the Rapidash and Ponyta dropped them off at the Iron Cavern, they found the entrance was blocked by a large, steel plate. Blue, Red, Yellow, and Green looked it over then began discussing how to move the plate away from the entrance.

Their thoughts were interrupted by a loud _**CLANG,**_and when they turned to look they found that Pink had kicked the plate down.

"...What?" she asked when they stared at her, completely dumbfounded. When there was no response, she just shrugged and waltzed right on in, leaving the rest of Team Rangers to scramble to catch up to her.

The group wandered around the cavern, looking for any sign of a Pokémon besides themselves. When it became apparent that there weren't any, Blue crossed his arms with a huff. "You know," he lamented, "It would be much easier to find this 'Black' if we knew what kind of a Pokémon he was."

"...You called?"

Blue blinked, looked and pointed at his teammates, who each shook their heads, before slowly turning around. Floating out of the wall behind him was a Shuppet wearing a pair of black sunglasses over his eyes.

"Are you Black?" Pink asked, and the Shuppet nodded. "Bangladesh told me to come find-"

"Quiet," Black interrupted. Pink glared at him, then paused as her ears twitched.

"What's..." she whispered.

"...Awake," he responded, looking down the passageway they were standing in. Team Rangers followed his gaze, and the ground shook for an instant. "There was an iron plate. Broken. Woken from his slumber."

Pink found herself being glared at by the rest of Team Rangers, and she huffed. "Well, if I'd have known..."

The ground shook again. "Coming. This way." Black kept his gaze on the passage.

"Dare I ask, who_**zzt**_coming?" Yellow asked.

"Registeel," was the Shuppet's response.

Almost as if on cue, an ear-splitting screech echoed throughout the cavern.

_**"REEEEEEEEEEEGGGGGGGGGGGIIIIIIIIIIIII!"**_


	11. Day 5 - Part 2

_**Ink's Notes: **_

_Been a while since I updated this one. Let's just get right on it._

Day Five - Part 2

The passageway almost seemed to be vibrating as the sound of footsteps drew closer. Team Rangers adjusted, moving into some form of battle stance and preparing themselves for the opponent that they knew was coming.

"You intend to fight?" Black asked, eyes moving behind his sunglasses to trace over the assembled Pokémon.

"Of course," Pink smiled, cracking her knuckles _(did Clefairy even __**have **__those?) _as the sound got closer. "This thing won't just let us leave after we woke it up like we did. We'll have to knock it out before we can leave freely."

Black wondered if anyone could see the look of disbelief he was giving Pink behind his glasses. Somehow, he didn't think that was the actual reason - at least, not if the feral, anticipatory grin on her face was any indication. He sighed and floated down so he was level with the other Pokémon. "...Then I will help."

Blue blinked a few times before his face lit up in a smile. "Great! This'll be your first fight as a part of Team Rangers!" he laughed, attempting to slap the Shuppet on the back. 'Attempt' being the key word, as his hand simply phased through the Ghost-type, resulting in him comically spinning around in place a few times. Blue looked from his hand to Black and back again, pouting in childlike disappointment.

Black glanced over as Red, Yellow and Green each attempted to stifle their laughter, to varying degrees of success. He paused as he actually took in Green's appearance, hovering over to the Treeko. "You." The Treeko stopped laughing as he was addressed, narrowing his eyes and tilting his head ever so slightly. "You resemble someone I know."

"Now's really not the time," Green pointed out, spawning a leaf and gently tapping Black over the head with it. "We have a Registeel to beat the snot out of." Black decided he could press the uncanny resemblance to an old friend later, since Green _did _have a point with that one. He also decided to object to the leaf-pap later, since that was just plain rude.

"Hey, guy_**zzt**_," Yellow put in as the sound of Registeel approaching continued to get louder and louder, "I**_zzt_** it really a good idea to be getting ready to fight this thing in a narro_**zzt **_hallway?"

Simultaneous silence draped over the group as they realized just how bad of an idea waiting for their opponent to come to them was, though by that point it was far too late. An especially loud _**thump **_cut into their thoughts as the behemoth turned into the hall they stood in, head turning slowly so its glowing red eyes could scan the Pokémon before it. The Registeel turned to face its opponents, releasing a screeching roar that echoed off of the metal hallways, forcing all Pokémon present to cover their ears from the reverberating sound. With its opponents temporarily paralyzed, it brought one arm upwards, the arm seeming to gain more of a shine than normal as the golem brought it down towards Pink in a _Metal Claw_.

"Watch out!" Blue called, evidently just in time as Pink reacted, pushing off of the ground to the side in time with Registeel's movements. She flipped over to the wall, planting her feet onto it and pushing off of it, flying forwards as she brought her hand back. When she got close enough, she slammed her palm into the Registeel's face in what Black could swear was some sort of _Force Palm, _sending the golem reeling back. As it did so, she flipped in midair and slammed a foot onto its face in the same spot she'd just hit, using the impact and momentum to push backwards and backflip over to where the group was. Taking this as a cue, Blue turned to look over at the others. "Green, Yellow, see if you can paralyze it! Red, full force!"

Each of the three nodded, and Green moved first, wrapping a vine around Yellow and throwing her at Registeel. When she got close enough, she sent a static charge of a _Thunder Wave _into it, causing it to spark a few times as it attempted to move. Red moved forwards shortly afterwards, inhaling deeply before putting all the fire he could muster into a _Fire Blast _attack, which Black barely had a chance to register in order to dodge it as it flew through the narrow space and nailed the Registeel in the chest just as it finally managed to push itself to its feet.

Blue grinned, then inhaled himself before releasing a steady stream of water in a _Water Pulse _attack, hitting the still superheated metal golem and effectively welding its joints together. While Registeel struggled for movement again, and Black regarded the team with a healthy dose of respect, he decided to strike the finishing blow. A glowing purple eye seemed to appear in the air around him, and before long the eye was shooting strange beams of energy in the form of a _Hex _attack at the Registeel. The golem screeched in pain, its paralyzed condition only making the attack hurt even more as they pierced its form. Its screeching slowly died down to a hopeless wail, and it fell backwards, hitting the ground in a state of unconsciousness.

Team Rangers stood there in silence for a moment, before collectively releasing a sigh of relief. They exchanged glances, then Blue stretched and motioned back the way they'd came. "Let's get out of here. We can talk more to our new teammate outside."

Black chose to ignore the fact that he'd apparently been recruited to this team against his will, largely on account of the exasperated looks that the rest of the team was giving him, and instead focused on the fact that they'd apparently come looking for him. "...You want to speak with me?"

Pink nodded. "Let's just... go outside first?" she asked, and he slowly nodded, wondering why she'd suddenly taken charge of the questioning. It was only once they had relocated themselves to just outside of the Iron Cavern that he got his answer.

_"Bangladesh told you to __**what**__?!"_


	12. Day 5 - Part 3

_**Ink's Notes: **_

_...well, aside from this, I have no notes today. Let's get started._

Day Five - Part Three

Black took a few deep breaths, mentally thanked Arceus that his sunglasses made his current companions and apparent future teammates unable to see his eye twitch, counted backwards from ten, and reviewed how he had gotten into this situation.

1\. He had gone to the Iron Cavern to do some exploring.  
2\. While doing so, some _idiot _had broken the entrance and woken up Registeel.  
3\. Upon finding the offending group, he'd discovered they were looking for him.  
4\. Their leader had then forcibly recruited him to their exploration team...  
5\. ...just as Registeel showed up.  
6\. They then proceeded to completely curb-stomp the golem without much effort, somehow.  
7\. Then Pink (one of the Pokémon in his new team) had said Bangladesh (whom he owed a rather large debt) had told her to find him.  
8\. They decided to discuss why outside, in case the golem woke up, and left the Iron Cavern.  
9\. So they moved outside and sat down (or floated slightly above the ground, in Black's case) in a circle and explained the situation.  
10\. Which brought him back to present.

He muttered, inhaled, exhaled, then squinted at Pink through his glasses. "Let me see if I understand this." Pink rocked back and forth, uneasy. "You woke up four days ago." She nodded. "With no memories, only ones that came back with certain cues." Another nod. "But remembered how to fight, and that you're human." A final nod. Black sighed, groaning. "So Bangladesh said to find me, so I could take you to the Eon Guardians." He frowned, tilting his head slightly. _(This had the added effect of making his entire body slightly tilted.) _"Why?"

Pink fidgeted with her hands. "The Unown," she muttered. Blue, who was next to her, quietly took her hand to comfort her. Black thought it was odd compared to her usual robust behavior, but his musings were interrupted when Pink continued to speak. "We... ran into them at the Unknown Relic. Blue and I. They... they knew I was human. Confirmed it. Then... then said I don't belong." She looked down. "Said the world wasn't in danger. That I was... I was unnecessary." Pink let her head fall. "I... just want to know why I'm here. I... I only want answers." Pink sniffled. "To be told I'm not needed... I... I don't know what to do!" She hiccuped as tears formed in her eyes. "I don't have any memories... any purpose... I just want to know why I'm here..." Much to Black's surprise, Pink bowed to him as deeply as her current position allowed her to. "Please! Please... help me!" she begged. "You're my only lead... the only hint I've got! Even if it's just telling us where these Eon Guardians are... I have to know!"

Black sighed. Something in his mind was yelling at him, telling him what he was about to say was insane, that if he did say it that there was no going back, it was madness, run while you still can!

But Black had no legs, so he ignored that in favor of saying, "I'll need a black scarf if I'm going to join your team."

Pink's face lit up in a grin. "You'll... really help us?" she asked, lifting her head to look at him, hope in her eyes.

"Tomorrow," he sighed. "Rest first. It's a long trip."

"Awesome!" Blue grinned, placing his hands on his hips. "Welcome to Team Rangers, Black!" he exclaimed with a laugh.

Black looked over at Red, Yellow and Green, who each looked a varying degree of annoyed or exasperated. "Is... this normal?" he asked.

A nod from Green was his only response.

"...I have made a horrible mistake."


End file.
